Old Ideas Die Hard

I am reading, A Brief History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson. It is a book that followed three years of the author's study during which time he dedicated himself to trying to understand as much as he could about the universe he lives in. He realized how little he knew about the planet he lived on and sought out the brightest scientific minds to enlighten him. If you are familiar with Bryson's style, you will understand that the info is presented in a humoruos, understandable, and interesting manner. This is surprising considering the topics are astrology, geology, physics, cell biology, etc. etc . It is a great read if you are interested at all in taking a marvellous journey into your very existence.

It is interesting how history's most significant scientific ideas were often initially scoffed at and outright rejected. Years later these same ideas become accepted, proven facts. One of the lines in Bryson's book reflecting on this, has stuck with me over the last couple days. He comments, " ...sometimes the world's not ready for a new idea." It just struck me how true this is in so many facets of life whether it be religion, faith issues, politics, etc. What is it about human nature that we so tightly cling to old ideas and lack an imagination ?????????